Rob Ford warned not to crash Toronto’s Garrison Ball, which he was forced to leave last year

Toronto's Garrison Ball is one of those old-school affairs where the men wear black tie (dress uniforms if they're in the military) and women their best cocktail dresses.

Normally it's a must for Toronto's mayor but the city's current chief magistrate has been left of the guest list for Saturday's event. It has nothing whatever to do with him showing up stinko last year. Got that?

But Rob Ford is suggesting he might crash the party. Judging from past experience, it might be wrong to doubt him.

The annual Garrison Ball attracts about 800 military personnel, their guests and a who's who of Toronto's political and business elite, the Toronto Star said.

The mayor is normally invited, but event chairman John Wright told the Star that Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly will attend instead.

The official reason is that Ford is effectively mayor in name only after city council stripped him of most of his power last fall.

[ Related: Conflicting accounts: Was Rob Ford asked to leave gala? ]

“We wanted to have an official representative of the city and the powers had gone to the deputy mayor’s office," Wright told the Star.

“It has nothing to do with what happened last year or the year before. It has to do with the protocol of the evening.”

Sure. It's a fortunate coincidence that organizers for the charity event don't have to invite the hard-partying, crack-smoking Ford and risk yet another high-profile public embarrassment for the city.

The Star reported last March Ford was asked to leave the Garrison Ball after appearing to be intoxicated and speaking in an incoherent rambling manner.

According to sources interviewed by the Star, Ford arrived late and his condition alarmed some of the guests. Toronto Councillor Paul Ainslie told the paper that Ford was asked to leave.

Ford, then still largely in denial mode about his substance-abuse problems, dodged questions about the incident.

Fast forward to this week, Ford was non-committal when asked by CP24 whether he would attend the ball.

“Pretty sure I am, I’m not just quite sure exactly," Ford said. "I have a number of events. I’ll let you know if I am.”

[ Related: Mayor Rob Ford crashes Board of Trade dinner, leaves when things get critical ]

If he does go, it wouldn't be the first time Ford's shown up at an event uninvited.

In January, the mayor turned up at a Toronto Board of Trade dinner where the deputy mayor was the city's official representative. He took a seat at the back of the hall but left when the influential business group's president, Carol Wilding, began delivering a speech criticizing his performance as mayor.

Wright said it would be "unfortunate" if Ford crashed the Garrison Ball, the National Post reported. Unless you're specifically invited, you need a ticket ($115 a pop) to get in and they're sold only to military personnel and their partners, he said.

"You can't just show up," he said. “This is a function that is a private military function . . . It would be an unfortunate situation if the mayor decided to bust into a private function.”